U of M, Hormel, Mayo team up to create new research institute

The partnership between the University of Minnesota, Hormel Foundation and the Mayo Clinic aims to pool their resources together to create a comprehensive research institute -- primarily focusing on cancer.

The partnership between the University of Minnesota, Hormel Foundation and the Mayo Clinic aims to pool their resources together to create a comprehensive research institute -- primarily focusing on cancer.

The Rochester clinic has agreed to partner its research efforts with the country in the hopes of speeding up medical breakthroughs. Mayo Clinic already had research agreements with companies in Sweden and the Czech Republic.

In part three in a series investigating drug company's financial relationships with health care practitioners, the Pioneer Press looks into the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic, two big organizations that are getting a growing share of industry money. Both organizations use the money for research and training, and both have processes in place to root out possible conflicts of interest.

Two Mayo Clinic researchers spent 10 days conducting physical tests on themselves and about 20 climbers at the base camp for Mt. Everest. The testing at 17,500 feet sheds light on how the body reacts to high altitudes, which mimics conditions that patients suffer from heart disease, obesity and aging.

The institute says the $27 million expansion will create 125 high-paying jobs. The Austin Port Authority would pay for half of the expansion and lease it back to the institute. The other half would be paid through state bonding funds.

The researchers combed through 31 studies and concluded the flu vaccine is effective for 59 percent of healthy adults. They called that inadequate but still encouraged people to get the shots, saying it's the best protection available.

A recent surge of Goss's leaf blight has been wilting corn across the Midwest -- prompting researchers to try to find a treatment. The bacterial disease was first found in Minnesota in 2009. Last year there were 40 infected fields.

People who are considered to be in a normal weight range but who carry a little extra around the middle need to hit the gym, the Mayo Clinic says. Belly fat is worse than obesity, according to new Mayo research.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say heart attacks in Olmsted County dropped by one-third after Minnesota adopted a law banning smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The leader of Mayo's study tells Reuters other risk factors -- cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity -- stayed the same, leaving the reduction in second hand smoke as the apparent explanation for the decline.